


Pick up the Pieces

by Yami_Kada7



Series: Link Up [6]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Day 6, Hospital, Hurt/Comfort, Jin needs a hug, My favorite scene (so far), Reconciliation, Takeru better earn that trust, There's a doctor in there but I didn't feel like tagging him as a character, VRAINS Week 2018, give him a hug, work for it boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 14:19:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15293376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yami_Kada7/pseuds/Yami_Kada7
Summary: A rewrite of meeting the Lost Children.Chapter 1: After taking down the Tower of Hanoi, Yusaku and Kusanagi go for a long overdue visit to Jin.Chapter 2: How hard could it possibly be to earn Playmaker's trust? Apparently, much harder than Takeru thought.





	1. Jin

**Author's Note:**

> The scene that I was looking forward to almost since the first episode was meeting Jin. Of course, when we finally met him only for him to immediately have something so awful happen...  
> I just wanted to give him a hug. So this is how I would have introduced Jin, taking place soon after the events of episode 46.

The doctor was solemn when they arrived. He was smiling, acting cheerful, but there were telling creases in his brow and shadows under his eyes that gave it away. Yusaku was worried. Just how bad was today, was the last week, if the doctor in charge thought that they would need the reassurance of such a fake smile?

He let Kusanagi-san do the talking, trying to figure out what he would say to Jin once they got to his room. It would be a stressor to Jin, to see him; he had distanced himself when he made the decision to become Playmaker, to protect Jin. He hadn’t seen the other boy in months, and he wondered for a second if Jin would even remember him. If Jin didn’t remember, would he react badly? Would he worsen his condition by seeing him?

Yusaku didn’t know. He didn’t know, and he could only pray.

Ai would definitely be laughing at him by now. It was a good thing that he left him in the truck, who knows what the sight of a duel disk on top of everything else would do to him.

They reached the room, stopping in front of the room. The doctor gave them a look, one that bordered on disapproval once it reached him, before stepping up to the door. He knocked quietly before calling out, “Jin-kun, your brother and your friend Yusaku are here to see you. We’re coming in now.” He waited a beat, then gently eased the door open enough to slip through. Kusanagi-san hurried after him, and after a beat, Yusaku followed. 

It was dark in the room, the lights turned off. The only light came from the narrow window, whose curtains hung in tatters from a bent metal bar. There was a bed on the far side of the room, leaving enough of a gap for a small table between it and the wall. There was no other furniture. 

The doctor flicked the light on, revealing the walls to be a light green, complimented by the darker shade of the curtains. He could just barely see the top of Jin’s head, shaking on the far side of the bed.

Kusanagi-san approached around the base of the bed, crouching down to be closer to Jin’s level. “Jin? It’s me, Shoichi. How are you doing, Jin?”

At the sound, Jin’s head slowly came up, his eyes focusing on Kusanagi-san before going blank once more. His head tilted to the side, and he made a small noise in the back of his throat. Kusanagi-san waited a beat before continuing. “I’m here with Yusaku today, Jin. You remember Yusaku, right?” Behind his back, he gestured for Yusaku to come closer.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself, before moving in behind Kusanagi-san into Jin’s field of view. Jin’s eyes focused on him for a second, and he let out a higher-pitched whine as his knuckles went white on his knees. He had to do something.

“It’s been a while, Jin. Sorry, I’ve been really busy lately, so I haven’t had time to visit. Can you forgive me, Jin?” He tried to make his voice soft, and to give himself an inflection that wasn’t as robotic.

Jin’s head slowly came back up, and his eyes focused on the two of them again. He let out a hum, relaxing his grip.

Yusaku felt something inside him ease. It wasn’t a yes or a no, but it was probably the closest they were going to get.

Yusaku swallowed, glancing at Kusanagi-san. The man nodded to him. Might as well get it out there now.

“Jin, I have some good news for you. I think you’ll like it a lot.” He wasn’t sure, but might as well be as positive as possible. “Jin, the people who hurt you,-” Jin flinched “they’ve been caught. I helped catch them, Jin.”

Jin was staring directly at him now. “They’re gone now, they won’t hurt you. They won’t hurt you or anyone else ever again.” When did his throat close up?

“Never again, Jin. You’re safe for good now. There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.” His hands were shaking by the time he finished.

For a moment, there was complete silence in the room.

Then, Jin let out a choked whimper, and Yusaku felt his stomach drop to the center of the Earth. He had barely enough time to process the absence before Jin threw himself at the two of them, shaking arms wrapping around their shoulders. He let out another sob, and Yusaku felt his shoulder growing wet where Jin had buried his head.

Kusanagi-san wrapped an arm around each of them, and, stopping and starting, so did Yusaku. His stomach was back, but it had brought the lump in his throat back with a vengeance. He swallowed it down, for once leaning into the embrace. It took him a moment to figure out that the tremors he felt weren’t all from Jin’s crying, but that he was shaking, just enough to notice.

Just this once, he would allow himself that much. He’d let himself relax even though there were people so close. 

He’d let himself believe that they were really gone for good, even if only while he was in this room.

He’d let himself be a child, this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As soon as the Lost Incident was revealed, I have been dying to meet the other Lost Children and see how they interact.  
> When Takeru was introduced, I was also excited to see how he would win Yusaku's trust.  
> Unfortunately, he got off easy...  
> So, I decided to make it a little harder for him.

Soulburner was on top of his game. Bit and Boot were a breeze, hardly worth his time. But he did manage to buy time for Playmaker to go after that weird glowing guy, so that was great! Now he just had to find him.

Wait, there! He spotted the fiery hair and blue sparks from the board he rode hovering over an entrance to the restricted, SOL Tech only section of Link Vrains. “There he is, what are you waiting for?” Flame pointed out.

That wasn’t very nice. He steered his D-Board closer as he answered, “I wasn’t waiting, give me a break.”

“Playmaker!” Soulburner called out, finally reaching the other.

He couldn't help the smile that broke out over his face.

* * *

Well, it was understandable that he wouldn't want to team up just like that. Takeru kept telling himself that as he walked down the hallway.

Maybe if he showed him his Ignis, he could prove that he was trustworthy! Takeru picked up the pace, intent on getting to the classroom. After all, while he knew that Playmaker went to this school, he wasn't guaranteed to be in the same class.

Flame had lookout duty, so hopefully he would decide to point Playmaker out when he locked onto the Dark Ignis.

People were looking at him, long sideways glances and words whispered behind hands. He hunched his shoulders, picking up his pace for a new reason. 

He really wasn't used to school.

* * *

At least he believed him.

And stopped to hear him out.

But who the hell did he think he is?!

He could defend himself just fine, helping Playmaker out would be a piece of cake! Why wouldn't that guy trust him?! 

Okay yes, he had dueled once in the last ten years, so he was a bit out of practice, but that was no reason for him to keep sitting on the sidelines doing absolutely nothing useful!

Oh, the teacher was calling him now, he had to calm down, smile and introduce himself. As long as they didn't all stare too much, he should be fine.

* * *

Shima was really nice, he even introduced him to the other members of the duel club! Maybe he was useful after all. Playmaker seemed to tolerate him more than most people, surprisingly, so it was a win-win!

He just had to figure out a way to get on his good side, and then he was set.

* * *

“Are you sure that he'll come here, Flame?” Soulburner asked.

“Of course! That man from before got away, and my scanners show that he headed down to the gate I showed you on the map before vanishing.” Flame crossed his arms “If Playmaker couldn't even figure that much out, he wouldn't be worth teaming up with me.”

The SOL Tech security checkpoint was coming up, red and massive. “You have a plan, right?” Soulburner asked.

“Of course I do, when do I not have a strategy for you?” Flame harrumphed. “Just wait.”

In the next few seconds, Soulburner noticed a red glow on the edges of his vision. He glanced down. It almost looked like the glow was coming from his avatar.

“Done. There is no way that SOL Tech will detect you if you wear this program.” Flame sounded distinctly pleased with himself.

“Thanks, Flame, you’re the best!” He sped up, zooming through and pointedly ignoring Flame’s bragging.

“Oh?” Flame looked surprised. “The Dark Ignis is up ahead, along with a few other life signs.”

“Eh? But, who would Playmaker have teamed up with?” He tried to ignore the twist of his gut.

“Somehow, I don't think that they are part of an alliance.” Uh oh, Flame sounded serious. Better pick up the pace.

Soon, the other duelists came into view. Sure enough, Playmaker was dodging them as he rode towards the base of the tower, weaving in and out of their attacks using their D-Boards.

In an instant, he was upon them, and he moved to block the assailants. “Playmaker! Will you let me handle this?”

They locked gazes, Playmaker trying to get him to back down, Soulburner standing firm. 

Playmaker yielded, finally. “Alright. I leave it to you.” And he took off.

Go Onizuka (really?! What was he doing with SOL?!) tried to manoeuvre around him. Oh no way.

He flew dangerously close, causing the other to veer away from his intended course.

“Who are you? Don't interfere!” 

“Please calm down, senpai!”

“I have no time to play with you!” He tried to leave again.

“But I have one too!” He held up his duel disk.

Flame decided to make himself known. “Nice to meet you.”

“What? Then you're also a victim of the Lost Incident?”

Well that was a shock, not that he would let him know that. “Exactly, Go Onizuka senpai! Since you know, feel like dueling me now?”

“You have no right to call me senpai!” Ouch, that stung. “But a bounty hunter’s duty is to capture those who have Ignis. Fine, I'll take you on.”

“All right!” He couldn't stop smiling. “I'm Soulburner!”

Flame appeared once more. “I'm the fire Ignis. I'm called Flame in this world.”

Go Onizuka gave them a blank look. “I never show mercy. You may regret your decision!”

Was that a threat? Was he worthy of threats now?

“Bring it on!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first time that I have ever written either Takeru or Flame, so please let me know what you thought of how I wrote these two! I love hearing everyone's feedback!

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you all thought! I really appreciate constructive criticism or just plain old feedback! The next chapter will be out as soon as I figure out how to post a second chapter.


End file.
